Depression Associated With Increased Risk of Stroke

A recent study shows that symptoms of depression can increase the chances of stroke significantly

Highlights:

Depression is a leading cause of disability worldwide, and it is estimated that more than 5% of the population is affected globally
A recent study suggests that depression can increase the chance of having a stroke by 46%
The research also points out that an increase in the number of depressive symptoms significantly increases the risk of stroke

While many consider that depression is ‘just in their heads’, there is proof that mental illness affects physical health just as much. To corroborate this, a recent study finds that suffering from depression can significantly increase a person’s risk of having a stroke.

The researchers found that people suffering from the mental health disorder had a 46% increased chance of a potentially fatal stroke.

Those who suffer more symptoms of depression are at an even higher likelihood of having a stroke. Among the 26,877 study participants, those who had at least five symptoms were at a 56% increased risk.

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‘Depression can not only be mentally debilitating, but a recent study shows that it can increase your chances of having a stroke as well’

Possible Reason Behind Why Depression Could Cause Stroke

It is already established that depression can cause harm to a person's blood platelets, which are responsible for preventing clotting. Many strokes are due to clotting, which prevents vital blood from reaching the brain.

'Depression affects people around the world and can have a wide range of impacts across a person's life,' Dr. Robert Murphy, lead author from the University of Galway in Ireland, said in a statement.

More than 800,000 Americans suffer a stroke each year, and almost one-in-five result in death.

The most common type of stroke is an ischemic stroke in which severe clotting blocks blood from the brain. It accounts for nearly 90% of strokes.

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Depression and Risk of Stroke

Experts have long linked depression to stroke because of how the mental illness affects the blood flow in the body. Previous studies have associated depression with low blood platelet levels which increase the chances of clotting.

The research team, which published its findings in the journal Neurology, looked into how severe the risk is.

“In this study, we gained deeper insights into how depressive symptoms can contribute to stroke. Our results show that symptoms of depression can have an impact on mental health, but also increase the risk of stroke,” said Dr. Murphy.

The researchers gathered data from INTERSTROKE, a global tracker of stroke occurrences in 32 countries in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Out of the people they gathered data from, half had suffered a stroke, and the other half had not.

Participants in the study were surveyed on pre-existing health conditions such as heart, brain, and mental health issues. After adjusting for age, sex, education, physical activity, and other lifestyle factors, people with symptoms of depression before stroke had a 46% increased risk of stroke compared to those with no symptoms of depression.

“Our study provides a broad picture of depression and its link to risk of stroke by looking at a number of factors including participants' symptoms, life choices and antidepressant use. Our results show depressive symptoms were linked to increased stroke risk and the risk was similar across different age groups and around the world,” said lead author Dr Murphy.

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More Depressive Symptoms Could Mean Higher Risk of Stroke

The more symptoms participants had, the higher their risk of stroke. Participants who reported five or more symptoms of depression had a 54% higher risk of stroke than those with no symptoms, while those who reported three to four symptoms of depression and those who reported one or two symptoms of depression had 58% and 35% higher risks, respectively.

While people with symptoms of depression were not more likely to have more severe strokes, they were more likely to have worse outcomes one month after the stroke than those without symptoms of depression.

A limitation of the study was that participants filled out questionnaires about symptoms of depression only at the start of the study, so the effects of depression over time could not be measured.

Reference:

Depressive Symptoms and Risk of Acute Stroke: INTERSTROKE Case-Control Study - (https://n.neurology.org/content/early/2023/03/08/WNL.0000000000207093)

Source-Medindia

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